Social PsychologyTodd J. Farchione, Ph.D.

What is social psychology? Dominant sub-discipline within psychology

Views behavior as a function of people and their environment

Major topics fall under: Social influence

Social perception

Social interaction

Historical Perspective Became more prominent in the ‘20s and ‘30s

World War II Analysis of propaganda

Social factors underlying atrocities

Gender issues

Racial prejudice

Social problems

Conformity Major motives

Informational social influence

Normative social influence

Muzafer Sharif (1908 – 1988)

Solomon Asch (1920 – 1996)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYIh4MkcfJA

Compliance Factors in promoting compliance

Direct pressure

Friendship/liking

Scarcity

Reciprocity

Authority

Stanley Milgram (1933 – 1984)

Cialdini (1975)

Group Decision-Making and Dynamics Polarization

Groupthink

Facilitation vs. Interference

Kurt Lewin (1890 – 1947) Group productivity

Communication

Social perception

Intergroup relations

Group membership

Training leaders

More on Group Dynamics Conflict resolution

Social Influence Phillip Zimbardo – Stanford Prison Experiment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZwfNs1pqG0

Bystander Effecthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4S1LLrSzVE

Social Cognition Research Attributions

Internal (dispositional) vs. External (situational)

Attributional biases and errors

Heuristics

Stereotypes

Schemas

Internal Attributions External Attributions

Attributions About Oneself Positive: I did a good job because I’m smartNegative: I did a bad job because I’m inept

Positive: I did a good job because the task was easyNegative: I did a bad job because there wasn’t time

Attributions About Others Positive: She did a good job because she’s smartNegative: She did a bad job because she’s inept

Positive: She did a good job because it was easyNegative: She did a bad job because there wasn’t time